Desktops not feeling well.

[soup]

OK desktops may not be dead but (going by magazines and shops anyway) they are "circling the drain".

  A local(ish) chain called PC World used to consist of warehouse sized shops full of MoBos, keyboards, procesors etc.  Now it is part of Curries-PC World which sells mainly fridges, cookers, televisions and that sort of thing whilst there are only five aisles dedicated to computery stuff, two for phones two for tablets and one dedicated to laptops there are also half a dozen or so pre-built systems advertised.

   I also spent time looking for something to read at a WH Smiths.  Beside all the "How to use your iPad., iPad for beginers etc there were half a dozen or so PC titles one was 'PC Advisor ( the rest were Linux user etc which I didn't look at as I no longer even dual boot) this had one article which was a 'top 10 laptops currently availlable' and one which concerned all in one systems the rest of this magazine was tablets and phones including an article titled "how to take better selfies" when I saw that my heart sank: there was no tech news no building hints/tips anything like that.

[Tro]

Desktops circling the drain? heh.

[XTankSlayerX]

Isn't that why the Internet and Linus exists?

To hear tech advice and bad jokes?

[askmax]

So? Whats the point of this thread..

[MoDtEc]

OK desktops may not be dead but (going by magazines and shops anyway) they are "circling the drain".

  A local(ish) chain called PC World used to consist of warehouse sized shops full of MoBos, keyboards, procesors etc.  Now it is part of Curries-PC World which sells mainly fridges, cookers, televisions and that sort of thing whilst there are only five aisles dedicated to computery stuff, two for phones two for tablets and one dedicated to laptops there are also half a dozen or so pre-built systems advertised.

   I also spent time looking for something to read at a WH Smiths.  Beside all the "How to use your iPad., iPad for beginers etc there were half a dozen or so PC titles one was 'PC Advisor ( the rest were Linux user etc which I didn't look at as I no longer even dual boot) this had one article which was a 'top 10 laptops currently availlable' and one which concerned all in one systems the rest of this magazine was tablets and phones including an article titled "how to take better selfies" when I saw that my heart sank: there was no tech news no building hints/tips anything like that.

duhh

weve got one magazine left which is dedicated just towards pc(gamin)hardware and (hig end/gaming)laptops over her in germany

BUT these guys usually do great work, very detaild benchmarking and so on

and they got quite a sense of humor

 

also, we are techies. of course we wont get our information in an analog way ;P

[Blueprint]

For general consumer use, yes, mobile and portable hardware will take over (and has) as the things people use it for is not very intensive. e.g. web browsing, excel/office work. Whereas for productivity and gaming (and other things), currently, you can't beat the price to performance (and upgrade-ability) of a desktop pc. 

[Sauron]

I used to buy a tech magazine, but recently they are shifting the focus more and more on mobile and the truth is, most of that information could be had faster and earlier by just using the internet. I don't see that as a hint that desktops are dying, but rather as a hint that tech magazines are trying to go more mainstream, and the common citizen is completely ignorant of tech and only cares about his 800$ selfie machine.

[rentaspoon]

OK desktops may not be dead but (going by magazines and shops anyway) they are "circling the drain".

A local(ish) chain called PC World used to consist of warehouse sized shops full of MoBos, keyboards, procesors etc. Now it is part of Curries-PC World which sells mainly fridges, cookers, televisions and that sort of thing whilst there are only five aisles dedicated to computery stuff, two for phones two for tablets and one dedicated to laptops there are also half a dozen or so pre-built systems advertised.

I also spent time looking for something to read at a WH Smiths. Beside all the "How to use your iPad., iPad for beginers etc there were half a dozen or so PC titles one was 'PC Advisor ( the rest were Linux user etc which I didn't look at as I no longer even dual boot) this had one article which was a 'top 10 laptops currently availlable' and one which concerned all in one systems the rest of this magazine was tablets and phones including an article titled "how to take better selfies" when I saw that my heart sank: there was no tech news no building hints/tips anything like that.

PC world is a national franchise who under the parent company are merged with Currys.

Maplins (my local one) has 1/3 of the shop dedicated to the components along with another 1/3 dedicated to periphals and PCs built in shop with what they have.

Far from dead

[Adreyu]

I wouldnt say this is an indication of desktop pc's circling the drain. 
Laptops still dont have the power, price, longevity and customizability to really overtake a good desktop.

If anything Desktop gaming is at a really strong point right now.

[D4RK]

since i keep seeing this sentence "Desktops are dying" and clearly from people who have no idea about the subject. so here is explanation of what happened to desktops over the past 5 years or so:

 

   -For average consume:

 when it comes to people who use there desktop for internet browsing or to do some light work duties, 3-6 years old hardware can do that just fine according to their standards, so u wont be seeing these people buy new desktops too often.

in the same time tablets and smartphones showed up in the past few years, which clearly can handle lots of those small tasks easily. now take the average consumer point of view in perspective and u  will notice that they would spend on 1 or 2 of those 3 devices "desktop,tablet and smart phones", ofc it would end up with smart phones and tablets and u would end up with less people buying desktops in a short while like they used too.

 

   -For students:

 computers are part of almost every class that the student is involved with, now when it comes to students picking between a desktop or a laptop they would go with a laptop since most of them need to carry it around at some point, so u end up with more laptops, smart phones and tablets than desktops.

 

   -For Content creatures, gamers and tech savvy:

For these people desktops are getting better and better every few months and they are willing to update their hardware when ever they can, these people are the ones who value the desktop as it is, and we will keep buying new desktop hardware for a long long time .

[Clarkey]

OK desktops may not be dead but (going by magazines and shops anyway) they are "circling the drain".

  A local(ish) chain called PC World used to consist of warehouse sized shops full of MoBos, keyboards, procesors etc.  Now it is part of Curries-PC World which sells mainly fridges, cookers, televisions and that sort of thing whilst there are only five aisles dedicated to computery stuff, two for phones two for tablets and one dedicated to laptops there are also half a dozen or so pre-built systems advertised.

   I also spent time looking for something to read at a WH Smiths.  Beside all the "How to use your iPad., iPad for beginers etc there were half a dozen or so PC titles one was 'PC Advisor ( the rest were Linux user etc which I didn't look at as I no longer even dual boot) this had one article which was a 'top 10 laptops currently availlable' and one which concerned all in one systems the rest of this magazine was tablets and phones including an article titled "how to take better selfies" when I saw that my heart sank: there was no tech news no building hints/tips anything like that.

Theres a currys and a pc world within about 30ft of each other where i live. So not really dead..

But yes Desktops are dying for mainstream consumer use. I mean if i didnt game I would be fine with a laptop or Tablet as my primary device.

 

But still Peripheral options still make desktops attractive to a lot of people so i wouldnt get too worried.

[Prastupok]

OK desktops may not be dead but (going by magazines and shops anyway) they are "circling the drain".

  A local(ish) chain called PC World used to consist of warehouse sized shops full of MoBos, keyboards, procesors etc.  Now it is part of Curries-PC World which sells mainly fridges, cookers, televisions and that sort of thing whilst there are only five aisles dedicated to computery stuff, two for phones two for tablets and one dedicated to laptops there are also half a dozen or so pre-built systems advertised.

   I also spent time looking for something to read at a WH Smiths.  Beside all the "How to use your iPad., iPad for beginers etc there were half a dozen or so PC titles one was 'PC Advisor ( the rest were Linux user etc which I didn't look at as I no longer even dual boot) this had one article which was a 'top 10 laptops currently availlable' and one which concerned all in one systems the rest of this magazine was tablets and phones including an article titled "how to take better selfies" when I saw that my heart sank: there was no tech news no building hints/tips anything like that.

 

I wouldn't agree that it's Desktop PCs that are circling... but brick and mortar is. Many of these stores just can't compete with places like Newegg/NCIX/Amazon/Enter_preference_here in terms of "Do we want to carry this or keep it in warehouse?" and simple convenience. Plus, added bonus, it's usually cheaper through ones like the above

[DigitalHermit]

The desktop may be on its way out for the 'common user' but us enthusiasts and people with specific needs will keep the market going for longer...

[asim1999]

OK desktops may not be dead but (going by magazines and shops anyway) they are "circling the drain".

  A local(ish) chain called PC World used to consist of warehouse sized shops full of MoBos, keyboards, procesors etc.  Now it is part of Curries-PC World which sells mainly fridges, cookers, televisions and that sort of thing whilst there are only five aisles dedicated to computery stuff, two for phones two for tablets and one dedicated to laptops there are also half a dozen or so pre-built systems advertised.

   I also spent time looking for something to read at a WH Smiths.  Beside all the "How to use your iPad., iPad for beginers etc there were half a dozen or so PC titles one was 'PC Advisor ( the rest were Linux user etc which I didn't look at as I no longer even dual boot) this had one article which was a 'top 10 laptops currently availlable' and one which concerned all in one systems the rest of this magazine was tablets and phones including an article titled "how to take better selfies" when I saw that my heart sank: there was no tech news no building hints/tips anything like that.

A close friend's dad is a manager for a PC world store

Yeah, PC is mainly suited to enthusiasts and professionals as tablets and smartphones take over the consumer space 

[deVIZtation]

Circling the drain.... hmmmmm. I wonder why I see atleast 5 people with a whole build in their shopping cart every time I go to Microcenter.

[halfbreed]

The desktop market has largely moved online. It isn't practical for retail stores to stock pc parts because we are a small demographic and, even when we do buy parts, we don't do it often enough to justify carrying them. And thank God most places don't. Because if they did, parts would be more expensive due to advertisement and overhead costs. 

 

Desktops led to this amazing world that we now inhabit and has everything you could need to maintain your own. And if I have to wait a week for a product to have all of those benefits  then so be it.

[KemoKa]

<sigh>

Fine, yes, on a consumer level where most people are, the PC will die out. It's not going to happen overnight though: tablets still aren't powerful enough for the price. They'll get there though. HOWEVER.

 

Anyone who wants to game at high settings at 1440p, encode video or get any real work done at all, they will still need a workstation or a powerful computer to do all of that. You just can't fit a workstation into a Surface 3 tablet. It just doesn't work.

 

Now, laptops, laptops are doing extremely well, because you get the best of both worlds. Well, we're talking about gaming laptops in particular right now but bear with me: Gaming laptops have started to get to the point where they're overtaking a lot of high-end commercial desktops in terms of raw computational power. You can get a quad-core i7 laptop with SLI 970Ms (that's like having a 980 in a LAPTOP) that runs off of 200W and still is small and light enough that you can game, then edit some videos, then have to go out somewhere and pack up your computer in about 2 seconds, then wake it up the second you get there. It's crazy how powerful we're getting these things to be.

[BurgerBum]

computer people who erent just hipsters who act like they helped make windows all migrated to forums and small companies.

none of us leave to go buy a magazine.... why would we when we can use the internet we're already paying for to read it? 

[BurgerBum]

this is depressing still.

 

one day building computers yourself wont be a better value anymore...

one day everyone will just pick up thier glass tablet and walk around using thier brain to controll it...

 

i dont like this.

plzz. gimma my model M, gimme my pentium 3... i want my gefore fx 5600......

[KE2012]

Pcworld is no more pc related than Argos or tescos now. I'm forced to do all my shopping online

[Builder]

one day everyone will just pick up their glass tablet and walk around using their brain to control it...

 

That sounds pretty freaking awesome to me...

[Whorax]

OK desktops may not be dead but (going by magazines and shops anyway) they are "circling the drain".

*Writes this reply without getting any further in the post, laughs, then clicks away into another subforum*

[Trik'Stari]

I'll stick with desktop until I'm dead. No interest in tablets, no interest in touch screens. Cybernetic displays maybe, but by then I'm hoping for a real life version of the matrix (true virtual reality) and not the shit from lawnmower man.

[Briggsy]

PC can stand for "personal crap" or "Past Caring" so it still fits PC-World's business model.

[Tiby]

Nobody on the internet recommends prebuild systems and up to a point they are correct. Now you just choose the part that are recommended for your needs and you can either build the system yourself or ask the shop to build it for you. New users do receive free support from more experienced users so this part is covered as well.